Alle Artikel über Smartphones

Jim Harris, an author and speaker on disruptive innovations, has released a new report on consumer tech ahead of MWC 2019. In it, he claims that 59% of all the money spent in the same market in 2018 was expended on smartphones. Harris also asserts that Android is now the most popular software platform.

The LG V series has a history of including secondary displays, which are often built into their large phablet-scale screens. If a new leak is to be believed, this feature has returned to the V50 ThinQ - sort of. It consists of images showing a case that gives the upcoming LG flagship an entire extra screen.

At the Mobile World Congress currently underway in Barcelona, Xiaomi took to stage to unveil the upgraded Mi Mix 3. The new Mi Mix now features the flagship 7 nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC and support for 5G connectivity via the Snapdragon X50 modem. The rest of the specifications are identical to the original version including the slider mechanism and ceramic build.

It has been reported that TSMC could have a 5 nm FinFET process ready for commercial use by 2020, and the rumored Apple A14 SoC would be one of the first chips to benefit from the advanced technology. The semiconductor foundry has announced it will start risk production for 5 nm technology in the second half of this year.

OnePlus' first 5G phone will be released in partnership with the carriers EE and Elisa in the second quarter of the year. They are located in the UK and Finland respectively, and are the only companies to be associated with the release of this phone so far. OnePlus' CEO has indicated that the device will cost under US$1000.

Huawei maintains a number of physical stores for its devices in China. Reuters has reported that it now plans to open its first international bricks-and-mortar establishment in Vienna. This outlet will reportedly be open by summer 2019.

Meizu has announced that its Note 9 is to be launched on March 6, 2019. This phone will feature a Samsung GM1 48MP camera sensor. It may also have 6GB of RAM, a 6.2-inch FHD display and the Snapdragon 675 processor.

The CEO of Huawei’s Consumer Business Group, Richard Yu, has uploaded a photo of the moon to his Weibo account that was more than likely taken with a P30 Pro smartphone. Huawei has been busy promoting the zooming qualities of its upcoming P30 series on Twitter, but the zoom shot of the moon certainly takes some beating.

The main specifications, pricing, and availability of Sony’s upcoming devices have been obtained and published by 91mobiles. This massive leak includes details about the flagship smartphone Xperia 1, the midrange devices Xperia 10 and Xperia 10+, and the budget-level Xperia L3. The Xperia 1, 10, and 10+ will all feature the new “CinemaWide” 21:9 aspect ratio.

A leaked image of a promotional banner has confirmed the name of the upcoming foldable 5G smartphone from Huawei: Mate X. The picture doesn’t reveal details about pricing or hardware, but it does show the foldable device in three different forms that give a clear idea of what the Huawei Mate X will look like.

The Samsung Galaxy S10 line continues the recent tradition of having an additional hardware button that activates the Bixby virtual assistant out of the box. However, unlike previous flagship generations, users will be able to re-assign the functions of this button. This new feature may also be transferred to the Note 9 and older phones in the future.

KaiOS powers feature phones such as the Nokia 8110. MediaTek has prepared new 3G and 4G SoCs for this platform. One of these, the MT6731, can also support 4G in dual SIM slots. They are intended to bring new, affordable phones with these connectivity options in 2019

One month after showing up at CES and snagging quite a few "Best of" awards, the ZTE Nubia Red Magic Mars is now launching worldwide. This gaming smartphone is available in two variants — Essential (6/64 GB) and Superior (8/128 GB) — and a third one that features 10 GB of memory and 256 GB of internal storage space is also coming soon.

The Samsung Galaxy S10 line introduces the Infinity-O display to the international market. Unfortunately, it seems that some app elements are being occluded or otherwise disrupted by the 'punch-hole' found in the upper right corner of this screen type. This highlights the increasing need to account for and adapt to this new display tech in the future.

Samsung’s Galaxy S10+ flagship smartphone has amassed 109 points in DxOMark’s Mobile test for its rear-facing triple camera setup. This puts the device on equal footing with Huawei’s Mate 20 Pro and P20 Pro in terms of points, but the image quality rating website has given the S10+ third place in the overall Mobile rankings.

The independent benchmark DxOMark has given the Samsung Galaxy S10+ first place in its rankings for smartphone front cameras. At the moment, there are only 13 devices in the new selfie chart but Samsung has beaten out contenders from Google, Xiaomi, and Apple. The S10+’s front camera system was commended for its accurate autofocus and color capture.

A new rumor about the expected Sony Xperia XZ4 flagship smartphone has stated that the device could be renamed the Xperia 1. This follows the news that the Xperia XA3 and XA3 Plus are to be rebranded the Xperia 10 and 10 Plus, respectively. There also seems to be a fresh leak about the type of display the Xperia 1 will be fitted with.

It took TSMC a little over two weeks to fully assess the consequences of the Fab 14B incident. Apparently, the chemical contamination was triggered by an abnormal reaction in the photoresistant material that led to a polymer residue compromising up to 30,000 of 12 nm and 16 nm wafers. Total losses are estimated around US$550 million, but TSMC intends to ramp up production in Q2 to mitigate part of the losses.

A set of leaked Nokia 9 PureView renders have appeared on Twitter ahead of the device's expected unveiling on February 24. HMD Global may release the Nokia 4.2, Nokia 3.2, Nokia 1 Plus at MWC next week too.

The upcoming Realme 3 smartphone will be launching in both Helio P60 and Helio P70 variants. This was confirmed by Realme following the results of AIDA64 results that have leaked online. While the P70 version will launch in India, the P60 variant is destined for a global rollout. The Realme 3 is expected to sport a diamond-cut finish on the back and will target the tightly contested upper mid-range segment.

Reuters has reported that the South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix is planning on investing 120 trillion won (~US$106.6 billion) on chip manufacturing plants. The company will also spend an additional 55 trillion won (US$49 billion) on two existing factories over the next 10 years. SK Hynix is the world’s third-largest semiconductor vendor by revenue.

Xiaomi has launched the Mi 9 SE in China alongside the flagship Mi 9. The Mi 9 SE is the world's first phone to be powered by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 SoC and offers the same 48 MP camera and in-display fingerprint sensor as the Mi 9. While most other specs are on par, the battery capacity seems somewhat of a downer.

The Samsung Galaxy Fold foldable flagship smartphone has finally been officially announced. The Snapdragon 855-powered device has a 4.6-inch HD+ Super AMOLED (21:9) cover display and opens up to reveal a 7.3-inch QXGA+ Dynamic AMOLED (4.2:3) main display. The suggested price for this foldable smartphone innovation: US$1,980.

Samsung also devoted some of its latest launch event to 5G and its potential in the future of telecommunicatons and online life in general. This led to the unveiling of the Galaxy S10 5G. It has an extra 3D-sensing module on its rear panel, in addition to the three cameras also found in the S10 and S10+.

Samsung has released three new types of wearable to go with the Galaxy S10 series in 2019. They are the Galaxy Buds, a possibly improved set of earbuds, the Galaxy Fit, a new activiy tracker, and the Galaxy Watch Active, a new sports-focused smartwatch. All three can charge wirelessly, including off S10 devices.

Today, (20 February 2019) Samsung announced the Samsung Galaxy S10 and S10+. However, the much-rumored new S10 variant, the S10e, was also counted in at some points. It will start at US$749, and has most of the new premium line's specs and features.

The Samsung Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ are now official and boast quite the feature set. We've known about most of these features thanks to the bevy of rumors and leaks that have been floating around the Internet for months, but the devices look to be respectable upgrades over the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+. Both phones feature triple-camera setups, in-display fingerprint sensor, and reverse wireless charging, among others. However, the phones come with a hefty price tag, starting at $900 and $1000, respectively.

Samsung's in-house virtual assistant, Bixby, has been historically linked to many limitations over its life. One of them is the inability to work in certain languages, German and Italian included. However, support for these languages, as well as for Spanish, is now being rolled out to its 2.0 version.

The release of the Samsung Galaxy S10 series is imminent. This event has also been roundly rumored to include a stage at which the OEM's first foldable device will be unveiled. That has not stopped MobiFlip from presenting new possible images of this phone.

The new Archos handsets start at 5.7 and go up to 6.3 and 6.8 inches in size, but all will hit the market for less than 170 USD. The Unisoc SC9863-powered Oxygen 57 and Oxygen 63, as well as the Helio P22-driven Oxygen 68XL will launch with Android Pie onboard in May. Before that happens, these handsets will be unveiled at MWC.

The Surface Headphones look good, but can they command their premium price tag, and how do they stack up against their wireless on-ear competitors? We put the US$349.99/£329.99 Surface Headphones to the test in this hands-on review.

Featuring specs similar to Samsung's S10 lineup, the Mi 9 smashes the Korean competitor with halved starting prices. Some of the outstanding features coming with the Mi9 include the powerful Snapdragon 855 SoC, up to 12 GB of RAM, up to 256 GB of storage, a 6.39-inch AMOLED screen with in-display fingerprint sensor, a 20 MP selfie cam and an impressive 48 + 16 + 12 MP rear tri-cam.

The version labeled 50 of the Opera browser for Android comes with an improved ad blocker that features a site-specific setting, picture-in-picture support for videos on Android Oreo (and later), support for dark CSS themes, as well as support for the Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian languages.

Chinese smartphone maker Vivo has launched its latest notchless all-display smartphone. The new Vivo V15 Pro has been unveiled in India and comes with an pop-up selfie camera and a triple rear camera set up.

Ahead of MWC 2019, LG has announced three new budget smartphones in the Q and K-series. The LG Q60 offers a triple-camera setup and higher onboard storage while the LG K50 and K40 are oriented at more price-conscious users. All phones sport an unnamed 2.0 GHz octa-core SoC and LG's FullVision display HD+ panels along with support for DTS:X audio and AI Cam.

Renders of a foldable iPhone have been created and published by LetsGoDigital. The images are based on a patent application Apple made with the USPTO. Unlike many recent foldable offerings, the smartphone does not turn into a tablet-sized device. The standout feature of this potential foldable iPhone is that it can fold inwards and outwards.

A new image of the OnePlus 7 has leaked online confirming previous leaks of a notch-less fullscreen display. We also do not see any punch-hole for the selfie camera indicating the possibility of a slider mechanism. However, the display orientation throws up a speculation as to whether or not OnePlus is building support for inverted displays into Oxygen OS.

Razer has had to cut around 2% of its workforce due to “realignment.” It’s believed many of the staff that have been let go were involved with the company’s smartphone products. The cuts could mean that any progress on the Razer Phone 3 device has been halted while the manufacturer streamlines its operations.

Qualcomm looks to be developing a new entry-level SoC for entry-level Android Go smartphones. References to the new QM215 SoC have been spotted in several Qualcomm developer documents and it is expected to be developed independent of the mainstream Snapdragon series. The QM215 should hopefully increase adoption of the Android Go platform in emerging markets.

It has been reported that owners of unlocked Razer Phone 2 handsets can expect to start receiving updates to Android 9 Pie from February 27. Those with carrier devices will have to wait a bit longer. This will be a relief to some as it seems the American-Singaporean company could be having some internal issues.

The S90 is Doogee's first rugged smartphone that comes with a selection of modules similar to Motorola's mods. These include a high quality night vision camera, a 5,000 mAh powerbank, a walkie-talkie and a game controller. Additionally, the casing of the S90 is made of military grade metal and polycarbonate, so it can withstand extreme conditions.

The Helio P90 is an SoC that could bring augmented and mixed reality to some mid-range devices in the future. Today, MediaTek added AI to that list of possibilities. It has announced support for Google's ML Kit in conjunction with the P90. This could allow the processor to harness its APU to produce an enhanced AI experience.

Google announced today that it would be holding a special event at the Game Developer Conference (GDC) next month on March 19th. The announcement offers few details, but many are guessing that Google will announce something related to Project Stream, the search giant's in-browser game streaming service. Google has been working on Project Stream for months and might be developing the service to compete with the likes of Nvidia, Sony, Microsoft, and Amazon.

Today, (February 19, 2019) Qualcomm has launched its second modem for use with 5G-New Radio (5G-NR): the Snapdragon X55. It is rated to support download speeds of up to 7 gigabits per second (Gb/s) and upload speeds of up to 3 Gb/s. Unlike its predecessor, the X50, this modem is also compatible with 2G, 3G and 4G.

PlusUs has introduced its Xpad, a charging pad that measures only 2.2 millimeters in depth. This spec leads the start-up to assert that it is the thinnest product of its kind worldwide. It is available as a reward as part of an Indiegogo campaign, which aims to raise US$20,000.

A recent video made by XDA based on a leaked version of Android Q from January 2019 does not have a 'back' option in its UI navigation functions. The user must now swipe to the left using the 'pill' to return to a second-most recent app. This Q build also has smoother animations for app-switching.